Best Towns & Cities To See Near San FranciscoThere’s much more to see than just “The City”

The towns and cities near San Francisco Bay abound with treasure troves of natural wonders, especially along the coast lines and mountain tops. Below we’ve cherry picked out a few of the very best things to do in towns near San Francisco. Our SF Bay Area city & town maps also identify specific local highlights and current weather conditions.

Marin  north of SF across Golden Gate Bridge

Sausalito One of the best little seaside towns in the world is just an exciting 30 minute ferry boat ride away (or a longer bike ride via the Golden Gate Bridge). See the Sausalito-Tiburon map for exact locations.

Best towns and sights to see while driving Cabrillo Hwy (Hwy1) down the coast south of San Francisco. From Montara to Santa Cruz is a superb stretch of coastal road for a Sunday drive; but, start reasonably early (e.g., 9:30-10 am) to avoid slow traffic. Also see coast map.

Stanford-Palo Alto Home of Stanford and Hewlett-Packard, Inc. Lots of wealthy Stanford grads, doctors, and famous businessmen like Steve Jobs live around here for a reason; they like it. Also see Stanford-Palo Alto map.

San Jose Has a larger population than SF (948,000 vs 809,000) and is ranked among the top 10 most livable large cities in the US. Feels more like a giant suburb than a city. Has a few interesting gems to check out. Also see San Jose map.

Los Gatos This upscale little town is a great place to visit Sunday mornings. We like it better than Mill Valley in Marin. Also see Los Gatos map.

Santa Cruz & south

Santa Cruz Resort community with a famous old (1907) oceanfront amusement park with its Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster. Home of UC Santa Cruz.

Capitola Historic little resort town. It has the nicest weather & beach around as well as an adjacent shopping area.

Carmel by the Sea Former artist haven with nifty main street shops, a unique little beach, and the famous 17 mile drive. Clint Eastwood was once the town mayor. But, it’s a long round trip for one day. Also see Carmel map.